The Blue Notebook
by Steal Your Heart
Summary: What should be a butt kicking summer is a snorefest. Bella's best friend is out boinking with his new girl and her parents are probably doing the same. What can she do with Chicago at her fingers, a notebook, and a stranger named either Edward or Hungry?


Read my profile for a brief intro about me!  
>I don't know how often I am able to update this story (life of a college student, yuck!), sorry! I think the summary is fairly self-explanitory. Over the years my grammar has improved but I am still in need of a beta! Over the years of my being on I have had trouble with the page breakers. Excuse my "ghetto" ones.<p>

There was something pleasant about the musty smell of the library—it smelled like knowledge and comfort in there.  
>There is also something about spending your summer vacation in the library—it reeked of loser.<br>Parents would drop their child off for an hour or two in hopes for some peace and quiet. The kids who were Bella Swan's age of eighteen, however, rode their bikes here to sit among the stacks or participate in the board game competition that happened every other Thursday. They were the pasty, lanky kids who bounced on the heels of their feet with their lucky dice, waiting for the library's community room to open up, with their video-games-turned-novels touching their nose.  
>Bella Swan was not one of those people right now. After two weeks straight of hanging out in the library she was bored out of her mind. Her lifetime love for books went straight out the door last Sunday. She abhorred the air-conditioned building and yearned for the burning sun on her skin and just something to do—anything, please.<br>Walking outside she pulled out her cell phone and made a call.  
>"Please, pick up," she willed her best friend.<br>On the other end was a grunt and some shuffling, then a gruff hello.  
>"Emmett, please tell me you want to do something?"<br>"Can't, busy right now," he mumbled, then grunted again.  
>Bella's face contorted into shock. "Gross! Are you two boinking right now?"<br>"Rose—ah! Rosalie's leaving in an hour to go to dinner with her cousins or—aw yeah–something, so you can pop by."

"Sure," and then she hung up before her summer would instead be spent inside a therapist's office.  
><strong>PAGEBREAKER!<strong>

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><p>Instead of waiting an hour Bella waited an hour and a half just to make sure Emmett and Rosalie had gotten the third, fourth, and fifth round out of their systems.<br>And shit, was it a good move because as she pulled her car onto Emmett's street, Rosalie drove by and waved to her.  
>"Just passed by your girlfriend," Bella greeted an Emmett, who was sprawled on the couch in only his boxers. "Oh God, Emmett, please, just tug your boxers over a little to the left."<p>

Emmett McCarty let out a deep chuckled and rearranged himself. "That's such a virgin thing to say, Bella. Now what do you want?"

"What do I want? You're the one who told me to come over. I assume you have something planned."  
>"Nope."<br>"Fuck you."  
>"Aww, with a sailor's mouth like that no one would even think you're a virgin."<p>

"Shut up, just because you lost yours two weeks ago doesn't mean you're God."

He stuck his tongue out. "Rosalie says I am," he said petulantly. "Now what do you want?"  
>"I want to hang out with my best friend. Come on, isn't there something we can do? I mean we're in a new city and all I've discovered is the inside of the Chicago public library."<br>"We're in a new city, Bella, which means new people. Go out and meet some of them."  
>Bella was hurt. As happy as she was that Emmett had found someone that made him happy she still wanted her best friend. This was supposed to be their adventure. They had made the promise that this summer was going to be their summer when they filled out the application to Northwestern and University of Chicago together. When they found out they were the only two students of Forks, Washington to get into Northwestern they made that pact. They would convince their parents to let them move to Chicago the week after graduation and they would take Chi-Town by storm together. It worked and here they were. Then when Bella accompanied Emmett to his first football meeting he met Rosalie, the coach's daughter, who was serving refreshments. He was smitten like the slobbery puppy he is.<p>

Emmett interrupted her thoughts. "Okay, that was mean, sorry. I wish I could hang out more but I want to get to know Rosalie better and football practice is really kicking my ass right now. Running drills in hundred degree weather is worse than Fork's eighty degrees."  
>"Well, what are you doing tonight?"<br>"I'm taking Rosalie out to a movie. Speaking of which, I need to shower and clean up that penguin suit."  
>Emmett's idea of a penguin suit was a white t-shirt and a leather jacket.<br>"It's too hot to wear a leather jacket, Emmett."  
>"I keep forgetting we're not in Forks. I guess I need to go find a clean shirt. Want to help?"<p>

Bella sighed and got up to leave. "No thanks. The library closed in a few hours and I'll go and keep myself company."  
>Emmett rolled his eyes. "Jeez, perk up, Debbie Downer. Do you need a journal to spill all your feelings to?" He pulled out a plain blue notebook, scribbled something in it, and tossed it to her. "I don't want to hear anymore bitching from you. If you're going to see me then get your hormones out of your system, girlfriend."<p>

She caught it with intentions of throwing it back at his stupid head but decided against it.  
>Then at the library she did just that. After reading what Emmett scribbled in, "Bella's Bitch Book", she sat at one of the round tables and furiously scribbled in the book:<p>

Emmett sucks. For someone who was supposed to be my sidekick he makes a lousy one. I don't care that you lost your virginity because you don't care about being my best friend. Stupid Emmett. I wonder if Rosalie's a bottle blonde because that would definitely ruin his blonde bombshell fantasies. Was it too much to ask for a summer of adventure? I just want to hit up the nightclubs, go to festivals, and maybe even take a tour of Chicago. It's not fun when I don't have anyone to enjoy it with. It's not fun when your best friend is too busy with another girl.

Then she pulled out the page, scrunched it into a ball, and tossed it into the trashcan. On a fresh new page she wrote in large letters, "I AM BORED" drew a little flower to kill some time, and then left the building.

She left the notebook at the library on purpose. She didn't need Emmett's insulting gift to take back to her empty apartment. Besides, some little kid will find it and fill it with doodles. As she walked home during the warm night she marveled at the bright city, alive with nightlife. Women stumbled around in their stiletto heels, hanging off the arms of handsome men. She wanted to wear the same smiles of ecstasy they all had on their faces.

The next day Bella had a new plan. She was going to read one entire side of a library stack. It sounded like a time consuming activity that surely would keep her busy till the end of summer when she can then occupy her time with her studies. Emmett can go fuck himself.

One of the nice librarians approached Bella as she plucked a book from the shelf.  
>"You left this on the table yesterday. A nice, young man brought it to the counter and I recognized it as yours when you came in with it yesterday."<br>And reluctantly Bella took it back, intending to write a big "fuck you, Emmett" in it because his dumb plan came back to bite her in the ass.  
>Bella pulled out a pen from her bag and opened to a new page only to find it wasn't new. On the third page printed in a beautiful, loopy cursive was:<p>

"Hello, bored or Bella. I assume your name is one of those but I'm not sure. By the way, that's a nice flower you drew down there, Bored. But I'm wondering what was on the first page of this notebook."

Bella sheepishly looked at the frayed remnants of the first page sticking through the spiral spine then continued reading.

_"This is going to come off weird but I swear I'm not weird. I just want to play a game. Oh God, that sounded like I was a serial killer. I promise I'm not._  
><em>If you don't want to do this then you can just throw this notebook away or keep it and never bring it back here again.<em>

_1. What's your favorite color?_  
><em>2. How old are you?<em>  
><em>3. What do you like to eat?<em>  
><em>4. Do you like art?<em>

_I'll go first, Bored or Bella:_

_1. Green_  
><em>2. I'm eighteen years old.<em>  
><em>3. I really love Mexican and Italian food. Then again, I will basically eat anything.<em>  
><em>4. I love art. Throughout my life I painted, drew, and composed music. I recently began photography.<em>

_If you don't want to continue this, Bored or Bella, the like I said, take this notebook away from here._  
><em>However, if you want to continue this, then answer the questions and put this book in aisle twelve behind the Y section.<em>  
><em>Good day."<em>

And underneath it was yesterday's date and the time. It was two hours later than when she left for home yesterday.  
>Bella read the page twice over, running her fingers over the loops of neat cursive. Should she answer? The mysterious stranger left her the power to continue or end this. What harm could it do? She could take the notebook away like he said if she felt too uncomfortable. And Emmett did say she needed to go out there and meet people. He didn't say she couldn't meet them through his stupid blue notebook.<p>

Bella pulled out her pen and began to write:

_"Hi again. This is either Bored or Bella here. I don't really know what to say. I've never done anything like this, not that this bad or anything. I should stop rambling and answer your questions. Yeah, I'll do that._

_1. Blue_  
><em>2. I'm eighteen, also.<em>  
><em>3. I really like Mexican and Italian food, as well, but also Chinese food. And Thai food. And ice cream. I really like food, too, honestly. Food is delicious. And waffles.<em>  
><em>4. I don't understand art too much in terms of paintings and drawings but I know what looks good or not. Not that it's helpful, but I guess my kind of art is more like literature. I can't draw or paint to save my life, except for very basic flowers.<em>

_Can I ask you questions as well, stranger?_

_1. Since you know my name, what's yours?_  
><em>2. How many siblings do you have?<em>  
><em>3. What kind of ice cream do you like?<em>  
><em>4. What do you do in the summer?<em>  
><em>5. Are you from Chicago?<em>  
><em>6. Are you male or female?<em>  
><em>7. Favorite book?<em>

_Wow, that was a lot of questions. They kind of just went spilling out of my head, sorry. I feel like I should extend the courtesy to you, as well. If you feel uncomfortable about this then you could also just leave the notebook alone, as well."_

Would it be wrong if she hung around that aisle and waited for her stranger to get the notebook? Could he be here as well, waiting for her to go put the notebook in?  
>She shook her head at that thought. She knew to do so would kill the spirit of the game.<br>**PAGEBREAKERHI!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Bella was more excited than the normal book lover going to the library. She couldn't wait to see if her stranger left her a response. She fast walked to aisle twelve and giggled when she saw a new page filled with loopy writing.<p>

_"I'm really glad you want to continue this. I'll gladly answer your questions._

_1.I don't technically know your name. I know your name is either Bella or Bored. My name is either Edward or Hungry."_

Bella had just made a friend and she was so happy. Fuck you, Emmett!

I'm sure by now you know who Bella's mysterious new friend is!  
>Please rate and review! Constructive(!) criticismcomments/compliments/tell me about your day/your favorite nail polish color/what you think/your favorite part(s) in the chapter are welcome!


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